Centerplate owner Nicholas Biell, left, and non-profit volunteer Michele Downs face the Charles County Liquor Board Oct. 13.
La Plata, MD – The Charles County Board of License Commissioners (Liquor Board) was faced with an unusual show cause order at their monthly meeting Thursday, Oct. 13 when Nicholas Biello of Centerplate at Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf was confronted with the realization that non-profit groups have been allowed to serve alcohol at events without proper training.
The incident occurred July 23 when volunteer Michele Downs unwittingly sold a beer to a cadet during a regular compliance check at the stadium.
“I do not recall selling alcohol to an underage person,” Downs told the board. “I was not TAMS trained. No one there with me was trained.”
The revelation brought a tongue lashing from board chair Pamela Smith, who told Biello he apparently had no idea what was going on at his establishment.
“You need to have a serious talk with your management staff,” Smith admonished. “Nobody is doing their job. She’s been serving for three years and you didn’t even know it. You have a serious problem. You’re talking the talk but you’re not walking the walk. All that stuff is on you. Shame on you.”
Centerplate had a previous violation in 2009, but passed compliance checks conducted in 2011, 3013 and 2014.
Master Cpl. Judith Thompson said the cadet went through the concession stand and ordered a Blue Moon beer.
“She said, ‘I need to see your ID,’ ” Thompson noted. “He handed her a vertical license. She looked at it and said, ‘looks good,’ returned his ID and handed him the beer in a 16-ounce cup.”
When asked if she was given any training at all, Downs said she was taught how to pour alcohol, but that was it.
“I was offered training after the incident,” she said.
Manager Mandy Dilworth said she wasn’t particularly paying attention that night because she had been beaned by a hardball.
“I was knocked out by a 90-mile-an-hour fastball,” she admitted. “I left the stadium in an ambulance.”
For Smith, however, there was a bigger problem. “You definitely need to do a revamp of your policy,” she told Biell.
The board had to decide what to do because baseball season is over although special events are still going on at the stadium.
In the end, the licensees were fined $1,500 along with a $50 fine for the server, and will hold three days of closure in abeyance should a future violation occur.
They were told to put training procedures in place for all who serve alcohol at Centerplate in the future.
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com